Spider, Part Fourteen
"Shippou"
by Vega
I focussed my thoughts on how it was that I could still understand these people speaking when I had lost the Shikon Shard earring, rather than on what it was that I might have had for dinner. The meat Hakkaku had passed to me was already cooked when I had accepted it, so I was unable to recognize it, and for all I know, it could have been a human's leg or something.
Not willing to loose my lunch in front of this crowd, I had turned my mind to other things.
Like where Naraku and Kohaku may be right now, and why I could still understand the Japanese spoken all around me. True, I was Japanese-American, my mother having been the Yank, but I had grown up in the states - I knew nothing more than the hackneyed "Doumo arigato, Mister Roboto."
So had I been learning the language the whole time while I'd had the earring? Or was it the shard still imbedded in my uterus and my wish to be able to communicate that was doing it? After a few long hours of pondering this I decided to leave well enough alone - it was happening, and it was best not to question how, lest I mess my good luck up.
That left Naraku and Kohaku to ponder.
Obviously, I couldn't believe anything Naraku had told me was the truth, but then who was that Inu Yasha guy that Naraku hated so much, and where did that Miko who had parts of the Shikon no Tama come from?
And what of this hereditary curse that Kouga had spoken of? Had he been telling the truth? If so, what was the effect of the curse and when would it kick in? Or had it already? Was the imprisonment in this ancient world the backlash? Or had the Youkai Prince been putting me on? If he had been, to what point and purpose?
My mind ran for hours in circles like frenzied icy mice and when the painkillers finally wore off and all my aches and bruises began to make themselves known, I shifted myself and wriggled down the wall until I was horizontal, curled up to Kabau, and let sleep take away the pain for a short while.
~~~
When I awoke, it was very dark, and I assumed it was now night. Only one of the fires still burned and most of the rest tribe was asleep. Kouga had returned, however, and very much awake as he was pacing back and forth across the back of the cave, muttering to himself.
"Damned Mutt-faced hanyou, keh! But the woman, the woman could sense Shikon Shards... she could be useful... very useful..." and other such ramblings that I did not catch, or which followed the same general gist.
I desperately wanted to know what was going on, but bit my tongue instead. If Kouga wanted to tell me, he would. After spying on Sango and Naraku's battle, and getting the shit beat outta me for it, I was in no mood to pry into anyone's personal affairs any more, Shikon Shards or not. I shifted so as I to go back to sleep and Kabau sat up and thumped his tail a few times against the ground like a domesticated dog, splitting his yellow gaze between me and Kouga.
Tattle-tail.
Kouga heard the sound and came over to investigate, and found me awake.
"Oh, up are you?" he asked, and his blue eyes were virtually glowing in the darkness. I wondered if mine were doing the same. He reached out and patted Kabau on the head.
"Yeah."
"Did the tea wear off? Do you want more?"
"I... no thank you," I said, deciding it would be better to be alert and in pain than drowsy and drugged when dealing with these wolf youkai. They were more or less still wild animals after all.
"Are you warm enough?"
"Yes... thank you."
Kouga grunted and nodded briefly.
"Thank you," I repeated, and waited until he met my eyes before I continued. "For everything. I mean, honestly, thank you. I ... I really haven't seen much kindness lately and it... um..." I paused, forcing back a sniffle, "it means a lot to me."
Kouga looked at me as if I was a strange two-headed bug.
Alright, so the Prince of the Wolves wasn't used to being thanked. Or seeing a young woman refuse to break into tears of stress. I turned my head away and stared at the fire in the middle of the cave instead. I heard Kouga take a breath, as if to say something, but the words never came. Eventually he turned away and went to his own pallet - the stage-like mound of furs in the middle back of the cavern.
After a while I heard him muttering to himself again, but ignored it and lay back down to sleep.
I was grateful for Kabau's warmth.
~~~
The next morning passed without much incident. Hakkaku and Ginta were sent out to search out a party of trespassers on wolf land, while others went off to hunt or patrol. I caught from snippets of conversation the word "Gokurakuchou" - I had no idea what it meant, but from the way it the word was used I assumed it meant 'enemy' or was the name of a rival clan.
These wolves had been attacked rather severely on numerous occasions by these "Gokurakuchou", dwindling their numbers dangerously. The enemy had also begun to invade their territory, killing all life indiscriminately and throwing the local eco-system dangerously out of whack.
If attacks continued in this manner, not only the Wolves but all living things in the mountains would be nothing more than a distant memory. I sincerely hoped that this was the reason that the Wolves had been using the local human population as prey, rather than pure meanness. Kouga seemed so nice, I didn't want to have to hate him.
As the night before, I spent much time trying to decipher the mystery that was me. Just a few weeks earlier I had been fine: normal, average, comfortable, even a bit boring. Now I was the mixed-mutt hanyou daughter of God knows what with a hereditary curse hanging over my head and a piece of an ancient and powerful jewel stuck in my friggin' womb.
And HOW on EARTH had THAT gotten THERE?
The only thing I could think of, after many long hours of pondering, was that I had been born with it there. Which meant that somehow my mother had had it in her body when she had been carrying it.... unless it had somehow been transferred to me by my father? I imagined the biological parts of me that I had inherited from my Dad had been far smaller than this shard had been so unless the magic of the Shikon no Tama had somehow... I sighed heavily and shook my head.
Magic was just too damned difficult to figure out. Although I did notice in my musings that I no longer balked at the idea of it's existence. Hard to not accept what you had seen with your own eyes, I suppose. And I had seen a lot lately.
The other wolf youkai did as ordered and mostly stayed away from me, for which I was grateful. I wanted to talk to someone sometimes, mostly to alleviate either boredom or curiosity, but mostly I just slept, trying to recover my strength. The swelling around my eye had gone down, and many of my bruises were starting to turn a healing yellow.
When another youkai approached, human or wolf-shaped, Kabau would give a small warning growl. He only let those bearing food or more of the painkilling tea advance.
Hakkaku and Ginta eventually returned in mid afternoon with full water sacks and information. I didn't catch any of what was said, obviously, but a half dozen wolves were sent out of the cave with the order to "join Kouga".
Around sunset Kouga and his escort of wolves came back, but not alone. He was hauling the uniform-clad Miko girl from the future in by the arm! I attempted to call out to her, but Kabau let forth a small yip and stared at me - the message was obvious: "This is serious. Shut up."
I shut up and watched, leanign back against the cave wall and praying that nothing and no one would harm the girl before I had a chance to ask for her help. I watched with the sort of unnerved fascination that those passing a bad car crash have as Kouga threw her onto his pallet and told the others not to eat her, as he had told them with me.
It then became clear over the course of their conversation - shouting match, rather - that Kouga wanted to use her to find the Shikon Shards that the Gokurakuchou leader possessed so that he may kill it and take them for himself. This was illustrated when two of the human-shaped wolf youkai were carried in on stretchers, freshly attacked by the Gokurakuchou; one clutched three grey feathers in his fist, which I know meant something to the others but not to me.
It became equally clear, however, that this girl had no desire or inclination to help him whatsoever.
Kouga forced the issue, nevertheless, when he found a spy from the Miko's party stowing away on the hem of his fur kilt (a small boy in a blue haori with pointed ears, red hair, and a tail of his own) and threatened to have the child killed if the Miko didn't co-operate. She relented and the child - I recognized him then as the small boy from Naraku's palace that had worried over the Demon Cat - ran into her arms screaming 'K-Kaaaagoooomeee!'
Kouga left soon thereafter to go hunting, and the rest of the wolves were left to guard the cave and their precious prisoner - she was the key to their continued survival after all, and maybe mine too, despite her petulant reluctance to help them.
I watched in amazement from my pallet against the wall, will hidden by the shadows the fires cast from the Miko and child's eyes, as the boy transformed himself into a very believable copy of Kouga and proceeded to make a bid for freedom with Kagome in tow as if she were being lead by the Youkai Prince somewhere.
As much as I wanted to call out to them then, "Take me with you!" I knew I was too ill still to move. I would be a liability. I wanted them free and clear of this place, (as I assumed that Kagome would be more willing to help me if she wasn't a prisoner, and resolved to try to find her again when I was well enough) so I said nothing to alert the wolves. They were found out just at the cave's entrance when the kid's own tail, a rather short and curly orangey hue was discovered by a wolf and nipped out of playful curiosity.
The child cried out in pain and the illusion around him vanished.
"Fox magic!" one of the youkai hissed, surprised.
"Betrayer!" cried another, and they attacked en masse. Kagome grabbed the kid, screaming, "Shippou!" and they ran.
Shippou.
Shippou...a dissonant chord of recognition was struck in me....
When the youkai returned to the cave not more than ten minutes later, Kagome was on the shoulder of the REAL Kouga, and Shippou was no where in sight. A pity, really, because I had wanted to ask him where I knew his name from...
Kagome proceeded to fall asleep when Kouga let her go, pointedly ignoring the heated tongue lashing of the Youkai Prince, and I decided that perhaps it would be best if I did the same. Hopefully my night-time expression wouldn't convey my desperation to get home, or my distaste for Kouga's methods. I lay down and tried to arrange my kimono so that it wouldn't ride up as I slept.
Before I could drift off, I heard the rustle and felt the nearby warmth leave as Kabau climbed to all fours and padded a few paces away before sitting again. I sat up and found myself face to face with Kouga.
Kouga sat down in front of me, his back to the rest of the cave and the pack it sheltered. He studied my face for a long while, assessing the extent of my healing, and said, "Your eye has turned bloody."
"What?" I raised my left hand to my face and he retrieved a mirror from a pouch at his waist and handed to me.
"I took that from the village last night. Look at yourself."
I looked, and was slightly horrified by what I saw. A lurid purple bruise that complimented the blue of my eyes decorated half of my face. The whites of the actual eye that had been blackened was indeed bloody - a few small blood vessels must have been damaged for I had a slick red-spot beside my iris.
My bottom lip was torn, in the middle and at the edge, and shone with an herbal ointment that was preventing an infection from entering the wounds. There were other various scratches and bruises, but none that I thought would remain permanently.
I turned the reflective side of the mirror to face the Prince. "You don't look so hot yourself. Your cheek is bruised. Did someone slap you?"
I could see the muscles jump in his face as he clenched his jaw, suppressing an obvious wave of anger. His electric blue eyes flickered back to Kagome's sleeping form for a moment and I clued in. She must have nailed him a good one, and his pride was hurt.
Slowly I handed the mirror back to Kouga. Then I looked deliberately over his shoulder at the Miko with a disapproving glance.
"Is she your hostage?"
Kouga shook his head. "She's a Miko, and she can sense the Shikon Shards. I will use her to defeat the Gokurakuchou, then to collect up the rest of the Shards. She's also a very wise and powerful woman... I think I'll make her my mate."
I blinked, hoping that he didn't already know about the Shard I carried and that it's existence remained shrouded to his keen senses. "What? Just like that?"
He smirked and touched my shoulder lightly. "Don't be jealous, sister. I was thinking of taking you as my mate, but she's more powerful, even if she is a human. Think of how strong our pups will be! I'll give you to Ginta instead. He likes you."
I slapped his hand away. "You ego-centric git!" He blinked at me, stung. "You can't just give someone away! I'm not a member of your pack! And you especially can't do it to that Miko girl! She has other obligations!"
Kouga frowned. Then he stood and stalked away. Kabau whined as he looked at me, his ears flattened.
"Oh, I know this routine, already," I snapped at the wolf, "I've done the 'piss-off-the-demon-with-your-life-in-his-hands' dance before." Kabau sniffed and turned his tail to me, then lay down. Equally annoyed, I turned my back to him and lay down and forced myself to sleep.
I didn't know it then, but Kagome had been awake for the entire exchange, and had been studying me closely.
~~~
Author's Notes:
Short one today, sorry about that. Hope this helps to clear things up.
I know this whole story has been really confusing - one review said "more than once this story has made me go, oh, now i understand . . . wait, NO I DON'T!" which I think sums it up perfectly. As a reader, you're getting the clues to what's going on as Aslin does. *hint - check the meaning of her last name* I'm dropping WAY more clues than you can see, and in fact expected more people to figure it out by now. I think, however, that once you've read the whole thing you'll go back adn re-read it and go, "OH! That was OBVIOUS. Why did I get it?" At least, that's what I'm hoping for.
Again, thanks to everyone reviewing, it means a lot to me - just forty reviews away from 100 and hey! This one broke my record set at 58 with "Standign on the Edge"!
Reviews:
Kataionna: I'm happy you find it interesting. You'll kick yourself when you realize who she is. ^_^
Skitzoflame: No, I don't plan on chaning anyone from the series, so Kouga will remain "good". However, don't overlook the fact that although he technically IS one of the 'good guys', he still allows his pack to slaughter entire villages of people, and kills indescriminately when it suits his purpose. He's still a youkai.
sandalwoods: Ah! I've never met a real buddhist before! In the series Ayame is the grandaughter of the white wolf king fo the Northern Tribes. She is hurt as a child and Kouga promises to marry her after rescuing her - when she is old enough she tracks him down and asks him to make good on his promise. Problem is he's forgtten he even made it and is now madly in love with Kagome. He tells Ayame he'll marry here when she too can see the Shikon Shards and she speeds off vowing to learn how to do so. (Kagome calls him "cruel" because everyone knows Ayame will never succeed) And yes, her eyes are green, as are all Northern Wolf Youkai's, as far as I've seen. And no, Aslin is not Ayame.
Pallas Athena1: Neener, neener, neener! I'm stumping a braaaaaain! ^________^
ellie: Here's your update. I'm very pleased that I'm keeping you guessing - it means I'm doing my job right!
"Shippou"
by Vega
I focussed my thoughts on how it was that I could still understand these people speaking when I had lost the Shikon Shard earring, rather than on what it was that I might have had for dinner. The meat Hakkaku had passed to me was already cooked when I had accepted it, so I was unable to recognize it, and for all I know, it could have been a human's leg or something.
Not willing to loose my lunch in front of this crowd, I had turned my mind to other things.
Like where Naraku and Kohaku may be right now, and why I could still understand the Japanese spoken all around me. True, I was Japanese-American, my mother having been the Yank, but I had grown up in the states - I knew nothing more than the hackneyed "Doumo arigato, Mister Roboto."
So had I been learning the language the whole time while I'd had the earring? Or was it the shard still imbedded in my uterus and my wish to be able to communicate that was doing it? After a few long hours of pondering this I decided to leave well enough alone - it was happening, and it was best not to question how, lest I mess my good luck up.
That left Naraku and Kohaku to ponder.
Obviously, I couldn't believe anything Naraku had told me was the truth, but then who was that Inu Yasha guy that Naraku hated so much, and where did that Miko who had parts of the Shikon no Tama come from?
And what of this hereditary curse that Kouga had spoken of? Had he been telling the truth? If so, what was the effect of the curse and when would it kick in? Or had it already? Was the imprisonment in this ancient world the backlash? Or had the Youkai Prince been putting me on? If he had been, to what point and purpose?
My mind ran for hours in circles like frenzied icy mice and when the painkillers finally wore off and all my aches and bruises began to make themselves known, I shifted myself and wriggled down the wall until I was horizontal, curled up to Kabau, and let sleep take away the pain for a short while.
~~~
When I awoke, it was very dark, and I assumed it was now night. Only one of the fires still burned and most of the rest tribe was asleep. Kouga had returned, however, and very much awake as he was pacing back and forth across the back of the cave, muttering to himself.
"Damned Mutt-faced hanyou, keh! But the woman, the woman could sense Shikon Shards... she could be useful... very useful..." and other such ramblings that I did not catch, or which followed the same general gist.
I desperately wanted to know what was going on, but bit my tongue instead. If Kouga wanted to tell me, he would. After spying on Sango and Naraku's battle, and getting the shit beat outta me for it, I was in no mood to pry into anyone's personal affairs any more, Shikon Shards or not. I shifted so as I to go back to sleep and Kabau sat up and thumped his tail a few times against the ground like a domesticated dog, splitting his yellow gaze between me and Kouga.
Tattle-tail.
Kouga heard the sound and came over to investigate, and found me awake.
"Oh, up are you?" he asked, and his blue eyes were virtually glowing in the darkness. I wondered if mine were doing the same. He reached out and patted Kabau on the head.
"Yeah."
"Did the tea wear off? Do you want more?"
"I... no thank you," I said, deciding it would be better to be alert and in pain than drowsy and drugged when dealing with these wolf youkai. They were more or less still wild animals after all.
"Are you warm enough?"
"Yes... thank you."
Kouga grunted and nodded briefly.
"Thank you," I repeated, and waited until he met my eyes before I continued. "For everything. I mean, honestly, thank you. I ... I really haven't seen much kindness lately and it... um..." I paused, forcing back a sniffle, "it means a lot to me."
Kouga looked at me as if I was a strange two-headed bug.
Alright, so the Prince of the Wolves wasn't used to being thanked. Or seeing a young woman refuse to break into tears of stress. I turned my head away and stared at the fire in the middle of the cave instead. I heard Kouga take a breath, as if to say something, but the words never came. Eventually he turned away and went to his own pallet - the stage-like mound of furs in the middle back of the cavern.
After a while I heard him muttering to himself again, but ignored it and lay back down to sleep.
I was grateful for Kabau's warmth.
~~~
The next morning passed without much incident. Hakkaku and Ginta were sent out to search out a party of trespassers on wolf land, while others went off to hunt or patrol. I caught from snippets of conversation the word "Gokurakuchou" - I had no idea what it meant, but from the way it the word was used I assumed it meant 'enemy' or was the name of a rival clan.
These wolves had been attacked rather severely on numerous occasions by these "Gokurakuchou", dwindling their numbers dangerously. The enemy had also begun to invade their territory, killing all life indiscriminately and throwing the local eco-system dangerously out of whack.
If attacks continued in this manner, not only the Wolves but all living things in the mountains would be nothing more than a distant memory. I sincerely hoped that this was the reason that the Wolves had been using the local human population as prey, rather than pure meanness. Kouga seemed so nice, I didn't want to have to hate him.
As the night before, I spent much time trying to decipher the mystery that was me. Just a few weeks earlier I had been fine: normal, average, comfortable, even a bit boring. Now I was the mixed-mutt hanyou daughter of God knows what with a hereditary curse hanging over my head and a piece of an ancient and powerful jewel stuck in my friggin' womb.
And HOW on EARTH had THAT gotten THERE?
The only thing I could think of, after many long hours of pondering, was that I had been born with it there. Which meant that somehow my mother had had it in her body when she had been carrying it.... unless it had somehow been transferred to me by my father? I imagined the biological parts of me that I had inherited from my Dad had been far smaller than this shard had been so unless the magic of the Shikon no Tama had somehow... I sighed heavily and shook my head.
Magic was just too damned difficult to figure out. Although I did notice in my musings that I no longer balked at the idea of it's existence. Hard to not accept what you had seen with your own eyes, I suppose. And I had seen a lot lately.
The other wolf youkai did as ordered and mostly stayed away from me, for which I was grateful. I wanted to talk to someone sometimes, mostly to alleviate either boredom or curiosity, but mostly I just slept, trying to recover my strength. The swelling around my eye had gone down, and many of my bruises were starting to turn a healing yellow.
When another youkai approached, human or wolf-shaped, Kabau would give a small warning growl. He only let those bearing food or more of the painkilling tea advance.
Hakkaku and Ginta eventually returned in mid afternoon with full water sacks and information. I didn't catch any of what was said, obviously, but a half dozen wolves were sent out of the cave with the order to "join Kouga".
Around sunset Kouga and his escort of wolves came back, but not alone. He was hauling the uniform-clad Miko girl from the future in by the arm! I attempted to call out to her, but Kabau let forth a small yip and stared at me - the message was obvious: "This is serious. Shut up."
I shut up and watched, leanign back against the cave wall and praying that nothing and no one would harm the girl before I had a chance to ask for her help. I watched with the sort of unnerved fascination that those passing a bad car crash have as Kouga threw her onto his pallet and told the others not to eat her, as he had told them with me.
It then became clear over the course of their conversation - shouting match, rather - that Kouga wanted to use her to find the Shikon Shards that the Gokurakuchou leader possessed so that he may kill it and take them for himself. This was illustrated when two of the human-shaped wolf youkai were carried in on stretchers, freshly attacked by the Gokurakuchou; one clutched three grey feathers in his fist, which I know meant something to the others but not to me.
It became equally clear, however, that this girl had no desire or inclination to help him whatsoever.
Kouga forced the issue, nevertheless, when he found a spy from the Miko's party stowing away on the hem of his fur kilt (a small boy in a blue haori with pointed ears, red hair, and a tail of his own) and threatened to have the child killed if the Miko didn't co-operate. She relented and the child - I recognized him then as the small boy from Naraku's palace that had worried over the Demon Cat - ran into her arms screaming 'K-Kaaaagoooomeee!'
Kouga left soon thereafter to go hunting, and the rest of the wolves were left to guard the cave and their precious prisoner - she was the key to their continued survival after all, and maybe mine too, despite her petulant reluctance to help them.
I watched in amazement from my pallet against the wall, will hidden by the shadows the fires cast from the Miko and child's eyes, as the boy transformed himself into a very believable copy of Kouga and proceeded to make a bid for freedom with Kagome in tow as if she were being lead by the Youkai Prince somewhere.
As much as I wanted to call out to them then, "Take me with you!" I knew I was too ill still to move. I would be a liability. I wanted them free and clear of this place, (as I assumed that Kagome would be more willing to help me if she wasn't a prisoner, and resolved to try to find her again when I was well enough) so I said nothing to alert the wolves. They were found out just at the cave's entrance when the kid's own tail, a rather short and curly orangey hue was discovered by a wolf and nipped out of playful curiosity.
The child cried out in pain and the illusion around him vanished.
"Fox magic!" one of the youkai hissed, surprised.
"Betrayer!" cried another, and they attacked en masse. Kagome grabbed the kid, screaming, "Shippou!" and they ran.
Shippou.
Shippou...a dissonant chord of recognition was struck in me....
When the youkai returned to the cave not more than ten minutes later, Kagome was on the shoulder of the REAL Kouga, and Shippou was no where in sight. A pity, really, because I had wanted to ask him where I knew his name from...
Kagome proceeded to fall asleep when Kouga let her go, pointedly ignoring the heated tongue lashing of the Youkai Prince, and I decided that perhaps it would be best if I did the same. Hopefully my night-time expression wouldn't convey my desperation to get home, or my distaste for Kouga's methods. I lay down and tried to arrange my kimono so that it wouldn't ride up as I slept.
Before I could drift off, I heard the rustle and felt the nearby warmth leave as Kabau climbed to all fours and padded a few paces away before sitting again. I sat up and found myself face to face with Kouga.
Kouga sat down in front of me, his back to the rest of the cave and the pack it sheltered. He studied my face for a long while, assessing the extent of my healing, and said, "Your eye has turned bloody."
"What?" I raised my left hand to my face and he retrieved a mirror from a pouch at his waist and handed to me.
"I took that from the village last night. Look at yourself."
I looked, and was slightly horrified by what I saw. A lurid purple bruise that complimented the blue of my eyes decorated half of my face. The whites of the actual eye that had been blackened was indeed bloody - a few small blood vessels must have been damaged for I had a slick red-spot beside my iris.
My bottom lip was torn, in the middle and at the edge, and shone with an herbal ointment that was preventing an infection from entering the wounds. There were other various scratches and bruises, but none that I thought would remain permanently.
I turned the reflective side of the mirror to face the Prince. "You don't look so hot yourself. Your cheek is bruised. Did someone slap you?"
I could see the muscles jump in his face as he clenched his jaw, suppressing an obvious wave of anger. His electric blue eyes flickered back to Kagome's sleeping form for a moment and I clued in. She must have nailed him a good one, and his pride was hurt.
Slowly I handed the mirror back to Kouga. Then I looked deliberately over his shoulder at the Miko with a disapproving glance.
"Is she your hostage?"
Kouga shook his head. "She's a Miko, and she can sense the Shikon Shards. I will use her to defeat the Gokurakuchou, then to collect up the rest of the Shards. She's also a very wise and powerful woman... I think I'll make her my mate."
I blinked, hoping that he didn't already know about the Shard I carried and that it's existence remained shrouded to his keen senses. "What? Just like that?"
He smirked and touched my shoulder lightly. "Don't be jealous, sister. I was thinking of taking you as my mate, but she's more powerful, even if she is a human. Think of how strong our pups will be! I'll give you to Ginta instead. He likes you."
I slapped his hand away. "You ego-centric git!" He blinked at me, stung. "You can't just give someone away! I'm not a member of your pack! And you especially can't do it to that Miko girl! She has other obligations!"
Kouga frowned. Then he stood and stalked away. Kabau whined as he looked at me, his ears flattened.
"Oh, I know this routine, already," I snapped at the wolf, "I've done the 'piss-off-the-demon-with-your-life-in-his-hands' dance before." Kabau sniffed and turned his tail to me, then lay down. Equally annoyed, I turned my back to him and lay down and forced myself to sleep.
I didn't know it then, but Kagome had been awake for the entire exchange, and had been studying me closely.
~~~
Author's Notes:
Short one today, sorry about that. Hope this helps to clear things up.
I know this whole story has been really confusing - one review said "more than once this story has made me go, oh, now i understand . . . wait, NO I DON'T!" which I think sums it up perfectly. As a reader, you're getting the clues to what's going on as Aslin does. *hint - check the meaning of her last name* I'm dropping WAY more clues than you can see, and in fact expected more people to figure it out by now. I think, however, that once you've read the whole thing you'll go back adn re-read it and go, "OH! That was OBVIOUS. Why did I get it?" At least, that's what I'm hoping for.
Again, thanks to everyone reviewing, it means a lot to me - just forty reviews away from 100 and hey! This one broke my record set at 58 with "Standign on the Edge"!
Reviews:
Kataionna: I'm happy you find it interesting. You'll kick yourself when you realize who she is. ^_^
Skitzoflame: No, I don't plan on chaning anyone from the series, so Kouga will remain "good". However, don't overlook the fact that although he technically IS one of the 'good guys', he still allows his pack to slaughter entire villages of people, and kills indescriminately when it suits his purpose. He's still a youkai.
sandalwoods: Ah! I've never met a real buddhist before! In the series Ayame is the grandaughter of the white wolf king fo the Northern Tribes. She is hurt as a child and Kouga promises to marry her after rescuing her - when she is old enough she tracks him down and asks him to make good on his promise. Problem is he's forgtten he even made it and is now madly in love with Kagome. He tells Ayame he'll marry here when she too can see the Shikon Shards and she speeds off vowing to learn how to do so. (Kagome calls him "cruel" because everyone knows Ayame will never succeed) And yes, her eyes are green, as are all Northern Wolf Youkai's, as far as I've seen. And no, Aslin is not Ayame.
Pallas Athena1: Neener, neener, neener! I'm stumping a braaaaaain! ^________^
ellie: Here's your update. I'm very pleased that I'm keeping you guessing - it means I'm doing my job right!